This invention relates generally to agricultural spraying equipment and more specifically relates to structure for suspending a solution tank beneath the frame of a sprayer vehicle.
Existing agricultural sprayer vehicles are provided with solution tanks wherein the fluids to be dispersed are contained. These tanks are generally mounted above the vehicle frame on saddles but are often suspended beneath the vehicle frame when the sprayer is intended for use on row crops. Sprayers having suspended tanks generally utilize narrow elongated solution containers which can pass between the row crops as they are sprayed.
Until recently, solution tanks were composed of galvanized steel, aluminum or other metals. Because metal tanks corrode eventually with continued exposure to various chemicals, plastic solution tanks are preferred. Plastic tanks are impervious to virtually all of the chemicals utilized in spraying, but lack the rigidity of metal tanks. Accordingly, existing plastic tanks are generally formed in a cylindrical shape and must be mounted on saddle supports above the frames of spraying vehicles or trailers to prevent deformation of the tank. It is also difficult to have a plastic tank from an overhead frame since the conventional type of hanging elements must normally be imbedded in the plastic and are subject to being broken out of the plastic upon large loads being carried in the tank.